Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

Reuters Staff

4 Min Read

(Adds Novartis, Investcorp, Sony)

May 17 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1600 GMT on Tuesday:

** Novartis is splitting its pharmaceuticals division into two business units, one focused on cancer and the second on other drugs, while switching out its current pharma head in the second high-profile management reshuffle this year.

** State-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to sell 5- and 10-year dollar-denominated bonds as early as Tuesday, alongside a repurchase of up to $3 billion of debt due in 2018, in an effort by the debt-laden Brazilian oil producer to cut repayment risk in coming years.

** Office Depot Inc said on Monday it was considering selling some of its European operations, nearly a week after the No.2 office supply chain and bigger rival Staples Inc called off their merger due to antitrust concerns.

** Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in American International Group Inc by 5.2 percent, putting him in a better position to pressure the insurer to split into three independent companies.

** Indonesia’s Gunawan family is weighing the sale of as much as an 80 percent stake in its general insurance business, PT Asuransi Multi Artha Guna, to Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings, sources familiar with the matter said.

** Hudson’s Bay Co of Canada will expand in Europe by taking over 20 department stores in the Netherlands, it said on Tuesday.

** The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to join the U.S. government panel that is reviewing state-owned ChemChina’s planned $43 billion acquisition of Swiss seeds and pesticide maker Syngenta AG, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

** Corvex Management LP disclosed on Monday that it owned 9.9 percent of Pandora Media Inc and urged the internet music streaming company to explore a sale instead of pursuing a “costly and uncertain business plan.”

** A trucking company half-owned by Australia’s Asciano Ltd took the port and rail giant to court, demanding assurance about its future under an A$9.1 billion ($6.7 billion) buyout of the parent company, a hiccup in the long-running deal.

** Hedge fund Paulson & Co cut its stake in the gold-backed exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust in the first quarter of 2016, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed on Monday.

** Taiwan has begun reviewing Chinese state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup’s proposals to buy stakes worth nearly $1 billion in two domestic semiconductor companies, putting the deals under intense scrutiny of a new government less friendly toward its giant neighbor.

** Saudi Arabia’s largest lender by assets, National Commercial Bank (NCB), plans to expand overseas, growing its Turkey franchise while exploring new markets including Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt, its chairman told Reuters.

** State Bank of India said on Tuesday it was seeking to merge operations of five of its subsidiary banks with itself, marking the first move of consolidation in the nation’s state-run banking sector.

** Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) has submitted a bid for Maltese telecoms company Go, the Bahraini firm said on Tuesday.

** Investment firm Investcorp Bank is exploring a sale of Polyconcept, hoping a deal will value the world’s largest supplier of promotional products at more than $1.3 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

** Japan’s Sony Corp said it plans to build up its artificial intelligence business and eventually turn it into a major revenue source, beginning with an investment in a U.S. start-up. The electronics maker has invested an undisclosed sum in California-based Cogitai. (Compiled by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)